Questions and Answers - Divine Will

Q1:  What is the Divine Will?

A:   The Divine Will is the beatitude of all and It is what binds the soul to God.  It is the inheritance of man that will bring about the reign of the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in Heaven.  The Divine Will is the Light that gives us the knowledge of God and the knowledge of who we are.  The Divine Will is the rest of the soul and the Paradise of the soul on earth; It is perennial Communion with God; It is the highest point which can exist in Heaven and on earth:

Volume 3 - February 26, 1900  

“…I want you to take My Will and to delight in It, loving Me and glorifying Me in My Will, and holding My Will as if It were My very Person.  By doing so, you will keep Me in your very hands.  What forms the beatitude of Paradise?  Certainly My Divinity.  Now, what would form the beatitude of my dear ones on earth?  With certainty, My Will.” 

Volume 4 - November 11, 1900 

“Ah, My daughter, do not go out of My Will, because by going out of My Will, you come to lose the knowledge of Me, and not knowing Me, you come to lose the knowledge of yourself.  In fact, only in the reflections of the light can one distinguish with clarity whether there is gold or mud; if everything is darkness objects can easily be confused.  Now, the light is My Will, which gives you the knowledge of Me, and in the reflections of this light you come to know who you are; and in seeing your weakness, your pure nothingness, you cling to My arms and, united with My Will, you live with Me in Heaven.”

Volume 5  October 16, 1903

“Furthermore, My Will is light, and by always doing My Will, you nourish yourself with light, and your mortifications, privations and sufferings convert into nourishment of light for the soul.  In fact, the only food which is nourishing and gives true life, is My Will.  And don’t you know that this continuous nourishing herself with light, even if the soul should contract some defects, purges her continuously?” 

Volume 7 - July 3, 1906

“My beloved, the soul who lives in My Will rests, because the Divine Will does everything for her, and while It operates for her, I find the most beautiful rest in her.  So, the Will of God is rest for the soul, and rest for God in the soul.  While resting in My Will, the soul remains always attached to My mouth, and suckles Divine Life into herself, making of it her continuous food.  The Will of God is the paradise of the soul on earth, and the soul who does the Will of God comes to form the paradise of God on earth.  The Will of God is the only key that opens the treasures of the Divine Secrets, and the soul acquires such familiarity in the house of God as to dominate as if she were the owner.” 

Volume 8 - April 8, 1908

I was concerned because I was not able to receive Communion every day, and good Jesus, on coming, told me:  “My daughter, I do not want you to be bothered by anything.  It is true that having Communion is a great thing, but how long does the tight union with the soul last?  A quarter of an hour at the most.  But the thing you should cherish the most is the complete undoing of your will in Mine, because for one who lives of My Will, there is tight union not only for a quarter of an hour, but always - always.  My Will is continuous communion with the soul; so, not once a day, but every hour and every moment is always communion for one who does My Will.”

Volume 11 - November 27, 1913

“My Will is the highest point which can exist, both in Heaven and on earth, and when the soul has reached It, she has subdued everything and has done everything.  There is nothing left for her to do but to dwell over these heights, enjoy them, and understand this Will of Mine more and more, which is not yet understood well either in Heaven or on earth.” 

Volume 17 – May 21, 1925

“In fact, one who must live in My Will must not consider himself a terrestrial citizen, but must regard himself as a citizen of Heaven.  And it is with just reason that all the Blessed feel shaken, because one who lives with their same Will is thinking of letting the human will enter the field – cause of disorder, which has never entered the celestial regions.  You must be convinced that by living of My Will, the life of your will is ended - it no longer has reason to exist. 

“This is the living in My Will:  never to leave the Creator alone, to admire all of His works, and to give to Him, in return for His great acts, the little acts of a creature.” 

Q2:   How is the living in the Divine Will different from what the Saints did?

A:   Living in the Divine Will is the consummation of the human in the Divine.  To live in the Divine Will the soul must conform to It; the greatest sanctity is to live in the Divine Will; the souls who live in the Divine Will become living hosts; the Saints lived resigned to the Divine Will rather than living in the Divine Will; living in the Divine Will is the sanctity of all sanctities:

Volume 6 – June 17, 1904

This morning, after I struggled very much, blessed Jesus came and told me:  “My daughter, see how many things are said about virtue, about perfection, but they all end up in one single point – that is, the consummation of the human will in the Divine.  So, the more one is consumed in It, the more it can be said that he contains everything and is more perfect than everyone.  In fact, all virtues and good works are many keys that open the Divine Treasures and make one acquire more friendship, more intimacy, more commerce with God; but consummation alone is what renders the soul one with Him and places the Divine Power in her hands.  And this, because life must have a will in order to live, and by living of the Divine Will, one naturally takes ownership.”

Volume 6 – November 2, 1905

“Your will must be Mine; nothing must you want, be it even a holy thing, which is not conformed to My Will.  In the circle of My Will do I want you to go around always, without going out of it for one instant, so that I may render you the master of My very Self.  Do I want the war? You too.  And with the soul who comports herself in this way, I make of My Being a circle around her, in such a way as to make her live of Me and in Me.” 

Volume 6 – January 16, 1906

A little later He came back and added:  “My daughter, one who lives in the sphere of My Will resides in the abode of all riches, and one who lives outside of this sphere of My Will resides in the abode of all miseries.” 

Volume 7 – November 6, 1906

“This is My goal, and this is why I often speak to you about perfect resignation, because by living in My Will, the soul acquires the most heroic love, and reaches the point of loving Me with My own Love.  She becomes all love, and becoming all love, she is in continuous contact with Me.  So, she is with Me, in Me, and for Me she does everything I want; nor does she move or desire anything but My Will, in which all the love of the Eternal One is enclosed, and in which she herself remains enclosed.  By living in this way, the soul almost comes to the point of dissolving faith and hope, because as she comes to live of Divine Will, the soul no longer feels in contact with faith and hope.  Since she lives of the Will of God, what does she have to believe if she has found It and made of It her food?  And what does she have to hope for, if she already possesses It by living, not outside of God, but in God?  Therefore, true and perfect resignation is the mark of sure predestination, and the sure possession that the soul has of God.  Have you understood?  Think it over carefully.” 

Volume 7 – January 20, 1907

Having read the lives of two female Saints – one who aspired so much to suffering, and the other who aspired so much to be little – I was thinking in my interior about which one of the two it would be better to imitate, and unable to make up my mind, I felt as though hampered.  So, in order to be free and to think only about loving Him, I said to myself:  ‘I want to aspire to nothing but to love Him and to fulfill His Holy Will perfectly.’

At that moment, the Lord told me in my interior:  “And it is here that I want you – in My Will.  Until the grain of wheat is buried in the earth and dies completely, it cannot rise again to new life and multiply itself, giving life to other grains.  In the same way, until the soul is buried in My Will, to the point of dying completely by dissolving all of her will within Mine, she cannot rise again to new Divine Life through the rising of all the virtues of Christ, which contain true Sanctity.  Therefore, let My Will be the seal which seals your interior and exterior; and once My Will has risen completely within you, you will find true love – and this is the greatest of all the other sanctities to which one can aspire.” 

Volume 11 – March 15, 1912

Continuing in my usual state, I felt a great desire to do the Most Holy Will of blessed Jesus; and He, on coming, told me:  “My daughter, My Will is the Sanctity of sanctities.  The soul who does My Will, however small, ignorant, unknown, leaves the other Saints behind in spite of their prodigies, sensational conversions and miracles.  Rather, in comparison, the souls who do My Will are queens, and it is as if all the others were at their service.” 

Volume 12 - August 14, 1917

Now, in order to obey, I want to say a few words on the difference between living resigned to the Divine Will, and living in the Divine Will.

First:  living resigned.  According to my poor opinion, this means to resign oneself to the Divine Will in everything, both in prosperous and in adverse circumstances, looking at the Divine Will in all things - the order of the Divine Dispositions which It has over all creatures, such that not even one hair can fall from our head if the Lord does not want it so.  It seems to me like a good son, who goes wherever his father wants, and suffers whatever his father wants.  Poor or rich, it is indifferent to him; he is content only with being what the father wants.  If he receives or asks for an order to go somewhere for the fulfillment of some business, he goes only because the father wanted it.  But in the meantime, he must take some refreshment, stop to rest, have some food, deal with people; therefore he has to put much of his own will, even though he goes because the father wanted it.  However, in many things he finds himself in the circumstance of doing them by himself; so, he may be far away from the father for days, for months, without receiving specification of the will of the father in all things.  So, for one who lives resigned to the Divine Will, it is almost impossible not to mix his own will with It; he may be a good son, but will not have, in everything, the thoughts, the words, the life of the Father fully portrayed in him.  In fact, since he has to go, return, follow, deal with others, love is already broken - because only continued union makes love grow, and it never breaks - and the current of the Will of the Father is not in continuous communication with the current of the will of the son; and in those intervals, the son may get used to doing his own will.  However, I believe that this is the first step toward sanctity.

Second:  living in the Divine Will.  I would like the hand of my Jesus to write this.  Ah! He alone could tell all the beauty, the goodness and the sanctity of living in the Divine Will.  I am incapable, I have many concepts about It in my mind, but I lack the words.  My Jesus, pour Yourself into my word, and I will say what I can.

Living in the Divine Will means being inseparable, doing nothing by oneself, because before the Divine Will one feels incapable of anything.  He does not ask for orders, nor does he receive them, because he feels incapable of going on his own; and he says:  “If You want me to do this, let us do it together; and if You want me to go, let us go together.”  So, he does all that his Father does.  If the Father thinks, he makes the thoughts of the Father his own, and has not one thought more than those of the Father.  If the Father looks, if He speaks, if He works, if He walks, if He suffers, if He loves, he too looks at what the Father looks at, repeats the words of the Father, works with the hands of the Father, walks with the feet of the Father, suffers the same pains of the Father, and loves with the love of the Father.  He lives, not outside, but inside the Father, therefore he is the reflection and the perfect portrait of the Father - which is not for one who lives only resigned.  It is impossible to find this son without the Father, or the Father without him; and not only externally, but all his interior is as though interwoven with the interior of the Father - transformed, dissolved completely, completely, in God.

Oh! the rapid and sublime flights of this child in the Divine Will.  This Divine Volition is immense; in every instant It circulates in everyone, It gives life to everything and orders everything; and the soul, moving within this immensity, flies to all, helps all, loves all, but as Jesus Himself helps and loves - which one who lives only resigned cannot do.  Therefore, one who lives in the Divine Will finds it impossible to act on his own; even more, he feels nausea for his human operating, be it even holy, because in the Divine Will all things, even the smallest ones, take on a different look.  They acquire nobility, splendor, divine sanctity, divine power and beauty; they multiply to infinity, and in one instant one does everything.  And after he has done everything, he says:  ‘I have done nothing - Jesus did.  And this is all my contentment:  that, meager as I am, Jesus has given me the honor to keep me in the Divine Will, to let me do what He Himself has done.’  So, the enemy cannot bother this child - whether he has done well or badly, little or much - because Jesus Himself did everything, and he together with Jesus.  He is the most peaceful; he is not subject to anxiety; he loves no one and loves everyone - but divinely.  It can be said that he is the repeater of the Life of Jesus, the organ of His voice, the heartbeat of His Heart, the sea of His graces. 

True sanctity, I believe, consists only in this.  All other things are shadows, larvae, specters of sanctity.  In the Divine Will, virtues take their place in the divine order; while, outside of It, in the human order, they are subject to self-esteem, to vainglory, to passions.  Oh! how many good works, how many attended Sacraments are to be cried over before God, and to be repaired for, because they are empty of Divine Will, and therefore without fruits.  Heaven willing that all would comprehend true sanctity.  Oh! how all other things would disappear.

Therefore, many find themselves on the false way of sanctity.  Many place it in the pious practices of piety - and woe to those who move them!  Oh! how they deceive themselves.  If their wills are not united with Jesus, and also transformed in Him - which is continued prayer - with all their pious practices their sanctity is false.  And it shows how these souls pass very easily from pious practices to defects, to amusements, to the sowing of discord, and other things.  Oh! how dishonored is this kind of sanctity  Others place it in going to church to attend all the services, but their will is far from Jesus; and it shows how these souls have little care for their own duties.  And if they are hindered, they get angry, they cry that their sanctity goes up in the air, they lament, they disobey, they are the wounds of the families.  Oh! what false sanctity.  Others place it in frequent confessions, in minute spiritual directions, in having scruples about everything; but then they have no scruple that their will does not run together with the Will of Jesus - and woe to those who contradict them!  These souls are like inflated balloons:  a little hole is enough for the air to come out, and their sanctity goes up in smoke, and falls to the ground.  These poor balloons have always something to say, they are mostly inclined to sadness, they live always in doubt, and therefore would like to have a director for themselves, who would advise them, give them peace and console them in every little thing.  But they are soon more agitated than before.  Poor sanctity, how forged it is.

I would like the tears of my Jesus to cry together with Him over these false sanctities, and make everyone know how true sanctity is in doing the Divine Will and in living in the Divine Volition.  This sanctity sinks its roots so deep that there is no danger that it may oscillate, because it fills earth and Heaven, and everywhere it finds its support.  This soul is firm, not subject to inconstancies, to voluntary defects; she is attentive to her duties, she is the most sacrificed, detached from everyone and from everything, even from directions themselves; and since the roots are deep, she rises so high that the flowers and fruits bloom in Heaven; and she is so hidden in God that the earth sees little or nothing of this soul.  The Divine Will keeps her absorbed within Itself; only Jesus is the author, the life, the form of the sanctity of this enviable creature.  She has nothing of her own, but everything is in common with Jesus; her passion is the Divine Will; her characteristic is the Will of her Jesus, and the Fiat is her continuous motto.

On the other hand, the poor and false sanctity of the balloons is subject to continuous inconstancies, and while it seems that the balloons of their sanctity swell so much as to seem to be flying in the air at a certain height, to the point that many, and even the directors, are amazed - soon they are disillusioned.  One humiliation, one preference of the directors toward someone else, is enough to make these balloons deflate, for they believe this is a theft against them, considering themselves the neediest.  Therefore, while having scruples about trifles, they then reach the point of disobeying.  Jealousy is the woodworm of these balloons, which, consuming the good they do, keeps sucking air from them, and the poor balloon deflates and falls to the ground, reaching the point of dirtying itself with earth.  Then the sanctity that was in the balloon appears.  And what does one find?  Love of self, resentment, passions hidden under the aspect of good, almost to have occasion to say:  ‘They have made themselves the amusement of the devil.’  So, of all their sanctity, nothing was found but a mass of defects, apparently disguised as virtues.  But then, who can say everything?  Only Jesus knows the worst evils of this false sanctity, of this devout life without foundation, because it leans on false piety.  These false sanctities are the spiritual lives without fruit, sterile, which are the cause of who knows how much crying for my lovable Jesus.  They are the ill feeling of society, the worries of the very directors, and of families.  It can be said that they bring with themselves a noxious air that harms everyone.

Oh! how so very different is the sanctity of the soul who lives in the Divine Will!  These souls are the smile of Jesus; they are far away from everyone, even from the very directors.  Only Jesus is everything for them; therefore, nobody worries because of them.  The beneficial air that they possess embalms all; they are the order and the harmony of all.  Jesus, jealous of these souls, makes Himself actor and spectator of whatever they do – there is not one heartbeat, breath or thought which He does not regulate and dominate.  Jesus keeps this soul so absorbed in the Divine Will that she can hardly remember that she is living in the exile. 

Volume 17 – May 21, 1925

“This is why I have told you many times that living in My Will is very different:  those who do My Will are free to give their own and to take it back, because they live as terrestrial citizens; but one who lives in It is bound to an eternal point, flows together with My Will, is surrounded by an impregnable fortress.  Therefore, do not fear, and be attentive.” 

L. Bauer